Berlin.
In Germany, there was a long struggle for the 49-euro ticket. Inexpensive public transport can be an important incentive to leave the car at home. How are other countries doing it?
The environmental organization Greenpeace has criticized public transport in most European countries as too expensive to encourage people to switch from cars.
In a country ranking compiled by the organization itself, Germany came in fourth – mainly due to the recently introduced Deutschlandticket for 49 euros per month. “The Deutschlandticket is far from perfect, but it’s finally putting buses and trains where they belong: at the heart of sustainable mobility,” said Marissa Reiserer, mobility expert at Greenpeace.
Luxembourg and Malta at the top
For the ranking, Greenpeace examined public transport in 30 countries and their capitals. It was assessed whether there are nationwide monthly or annual tickets for all or almost all public transport carriers, what they cost, whether discounts are allowed for socially disadvantaged people and how high the VAT on tickets is. Aspects such as the timing of bus and train lines or operating times were not taken into account.
Luxembourg and Malta landed at the top of the ranking list, in both countries public transport is free. According to the ranking, only tickets for express buses and a ferry cost money in Malta.
Austria came third with the so-called climate ticket, which was introduced in 2021. France, Italy, Norway, Romania, Greece, Croatia and Bulgaria, among others, performed poorly.
In view of the ranking, Greenpeace calls on the countries to take measures to make public transport more affordable. “Most countries can reduce VAT on public transport,” says the report. A reduction to zero percent is legally feasible. According to Greenpeace, Denmark is already doing this. However, the country received very few points in the ranking because the ticket system was rated as one of the most complicated in Europe. (dpa)
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